When Sheep Tell the Shepherd to Flock Off

There’s an interesting thing happening online at the minute – people are beginning to see through crap and filter out inane. Long-term fans and advocates of bloggers and social media “leaders” are looking at them and realizing that maybe they don’t have much to offer after all.

What’s even more interesting is not that this is happening, but that it’s being made clear on why it’s happening by the very people who might have otherwise been quiet and submissive until now.

Of course, does this really matter? After all, if a blog has subsciber numbers in the high thousands, who cares if you lose a reader here or there?

It’s a fair point. But the bigger question to ask might be this: if the sheep (and I say that out of respect and not as a generalization – sheep being loyal but quiet readers) are beginning to question you, and call you out, what do you think the more vocal and free-thinking web users are saying about you?

And how do you think this affects your business opportunities? To come back to the self-promoting blogger angle, the constant referencing to in-house products and offers changes in perception. Instead of seeming successful, the blogger (and their relevant companies) come across as not having had much uptake, and now that the sheep are thinking for themselves, we better try and make some money while we still can.

Of course, this is just an observation. Besides, sheep are good – the numbers must mean you’re doing something right. Right?

Maybe. Maybe not. But while your flock is questioning your leadership, they’re also looking to other bloggers who actually are providing A-list content all the time.

Folks like Nancy Davis, who’s writing some of the most personal and human relationship posts on the web today. Or Marcus Sheridan, who’s writing the kind of content marketing stuff that Junta42 used to be known for. Or Geoff Livingston, where every single post makes your brain razzle with the solid and real business content that Forbes should have, but don’t. Or Jk Allen, who uses his inimitable hustling style to give you some of the best entrepreneur information you’ll ever read.

And guess what? These guys, and others like them, have businesses. The kind that your business looks to win. So while you might be happy with the “loyal” silent readers boosting your traffic and AdAge rank, will they pay the bills when a business is looking at a blog and reaching out to the author for projects based on the content?

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